Ski & Snowboard News / Free rides up Little Cottonwood this Saturday

Mar 09, 2016 05:36PM
● By Harriet Wallis

Wasatch Backountry Alliance logo

SALT LAKE CITY – MARCH 8, 2016 – Wasatch Backcountry Alliance
announced today a free shuttle service in Little Cottonwood Canyon for Sat.,
March 12, 2016 for dispersed recreational users such as snowshoers, hikers, and
backcountry skiers and split-boarders. Dubbed the Wasatch Backcountry
Alliance Shuttle Day, theevent’s goals are to collect participant
feedback, and to raise awareness of transportation and possible solutions that
exist today that can reduce traffic congestion in Little Cottonwood
Canyon. Utah Mountain Shuttle will provide multiple 12-passenger vans.
While the service is free, participants must register at www.utahmountainbikeshuttle.com.

After new snowfall, winter traffic
congestion in Little Cottonwood Canyon can cause drivers to spend an hour, to
more than three hours, waiting in traffic, with resort and dispersed
recreational users all vying to access the new snow. The congestion backups are
caused by a variety of issues, including avalanche control work by Utah
Department of Transportation (UDOT), but the biggest factor is the large
quantity of cars all driving up a mostly single lane road.

“Wasatch Backcountry Alliance has
participated in countless discussions about reducing traffic congestion in the
Cottonwood Canyons, we hope to raise awareness of the growing problem, and to
collect data from our members who use a shuttle as an alternative to driving,”
said Jamie Kent, Wasatch Backcountry Alliance President. “The
Shuttle Day event is about taking action to learn more both about the
problem and potential solutions.”

Member-driven Event

More than 650 Wasatch Backcountry
Alliance Facebook fans took a poll asking if they would try a shuttle, and more
than 96% responded with a Yes answer. Additionally the Facebook poll received
more than 100 individual comments on topics ranging from ideas of how to make a
shuttle work, to alternative ideas, and operational questions. Based on the
overwhelming support from the poll, Wasatch Backcountry Alliance decided to
organize the one-day Shuttle Day event.

Shuttle
Schedule: Each
stop will see a van approximately every 30 minutes from 7 (frequency depends on
traffic and weather conditions)a.m. - 4 p.m. A final sweeper shuttle will hit
each stop at around 5 p.m.

Wasatch Backcountry Alliance is
the recognized voice for the backcountry community involved in human-powered
winter recreation in the Central
Wasatch Mountains.
With a focus on providing advocacy in support of preserving the Central Wasatch, the group serves as a central
information venue, hosts community events, and works to enact positive change
in the winter recreational areas we use.